Friday, August 18, 2017

Friday, August 18, 2017

Friday, August 18, 2017

Student Business Grows with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad

{mosimage}What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller.

What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller. With the help of entrepreneurial services at LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, Miller launched Ground Up, a waste divergence company, earlier this year.

Ground Up produces a liquid compost tea made from leaves, vegetable compost and coffee grounds. The tea nourishes soil and plants.

{mosimage}"When you the put the tea in the soil, then all the microlife, the fungi and the proper bacterias is now in the soil for your plants," Miller explained. "The plants thrive in that kind of soil and it will promote the growth of your plant."

But the company is about more than just growing better plants; it’s about finding creative uses for waste.

"What we are about is creating sustainable ways to get rid of waste," said Miller, who lives in North Ridgeville. "There are other options out there, like energy for instance. Creating energy from garbage is the light at the end of the tunnel for us."

Before Miller and his business partners could begin to find their way to the end of the tunnel, they had to navigate their way from business idea to business launch. That’s where LCCC and the Blackstone LaunchPad entered in the equation. Miller met with LCCC professor, Ruby Beil, who encouraged him to enroll at LCCC and take advantage of the many resources available to entrepreneurial students. It was through Beil that Miller connected with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad.
The Blackstone LaunchPad is a unique resource available to LCCC students and alumni to help them achieve their business goals. LCCC is one of four local colleges and universities chosen to participate in a three-year partnership with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and The Burton D. Morgan Foundation to support the next generation of entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.

"LaunchPad promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career choice for any student, not just those working on a business degree," said Lee S. Kolczun, Director of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad. "This is a great opportunity for students to get help evaluating their ideas and developing their business strategies with the goal of making them successful entrepreneurs," Kolczun said.

"Blackstone has been really helping Ground Up and helping to steer me in the right direction," Miller said. He’s made contact with the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) and is an active participant in FEBE3, a weekly networking opportunity for local entrepreneurs that is hosted by Blackstone.

"When we all work together, hopefully we can grow this industry and create some jobs in Lorain County and do something positive for us and for our families and for the community," Miller said.

With the help of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, other students and alumni are launching their own businesses. LCCC alumni Amy Storrow created the fashion company Global Trendsetters, and LCCC student Michael White is launching CLIPS, a company that provides transportation to college students.

Student Business Grows with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad

{mosimage}What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller.

What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller. With the help of entrepreneurial services at LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, Miller launched Ground Up, a waste divergence company, earlier this year.

Ground Up produces a liquid compost tea made from leaves, vegetable compost and coffee grounds. The tea nourishes soil and plants.

{mosimage}"When you the put the tea in the soil, then all the microlife, the fungi and the proper bacterias is now in the soil for your plants," Miller explained. "The plants thrive in that kind of soil and it will promote the growth of your plant."

But the company is about more than just growing better plants; it’s about finding creative uses for waste.

"What we are about is creating sustainable ways to get rid of waste," said Miller, who lives in North Ridgeville. "There are other options out there, like energy for instance. Creating energy from garbage is the light at the end of the tunnel for us."

Before Miller and his business partners could begin to find their way to the end of the tunnel, they had to navigate their way from business idea to business launch. That’s where LCCC and the Blackstone LaunchPad entered in the equation. Miller met with LCCC professor, Ruby Beil, who encouraged him to enroll at LCCC and take advantage of the many resources available to entrepreneurial students. It was through Beil that Miller connected with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad.
The Blackstone LaunchPad is a unique resource available to LCCC students and alumni to help them achieve their business goals. LCCC is one of four local colleges and universities chosen to participate in a three-year partnership with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and The Burton D. Morgan Foundation to support the next generation of entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.

"LaunchPad promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career choice for any student, not just those working on a business degree," said Lee S. Kolczun, Director of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad. "This is a great opportunity for students to get help evaluating their ideas and developing their business strategies with the goal of making them successful entrepreneurs," Kolczun said.

"Blackstone has been really helping Ground Up and helping to steer me in the right direction," Miller said. He’s made contact with the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) and is an active participant in FEBE3, a weekly networking opportunity for local entrepreneurs that is hosted by Blackstone.

"When we all work together, hopefully we can grow this industry and create some jobs in Lorain County and do something positive for us and for our families and for the community," Miller said.

With the help of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, other students and alumni are launching their own businesses. LCCC alumni Amy Storrow created the fashion company Global Trendsetters, and LCCC student Michael White is launching CLIPS, a company that provides transportation to college students.

Student Business Grows with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad

{mosimage}What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller.

What began as a gardening project with his young daughter has sprouted in to a business for Lorain County Community College student Matt Miller. With the help of entrepreneurial services at LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, Miller launched Ground Up, a waste divergence company, earlier this year.

Ground Up produces a liquid compost tea made from leaves, vegetable compost and coffee grounds. The tea nourishes soil and plants.

{mosimage}"When you the put the tea in the soil, then all the microlife, the fungi and the proper bacterias is now in the soil for your plants," Miller explained. "The plants thrive in that kind of soil and it will promote the growth of your plant."

But the company is about more than just growing better plants; it’s about finding creative uses for waste.

"What we are about is creating sustainable ways to get rid of waste," said Miller, who lives in North Ridgeville. "There are other options out there, like energy for instance. Creating energy from garbage is the light at the end of the tunnel for us."

Before Miller and his business partners could begin to find their way to the end of the tunnel, they had to navigate their way from business idea to business launch. That’s where LCCC and the Blackstone LaunchPad entered in the equation. Miller met with LCCC professor, Ruby Beil, who encouraged him to enroll at LCCC and take advantage of the many resources available to entrepreneurial students. It was through Beil that Miller connected with LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad.
The Blackstone LaunchPad is a unique resource available to LCCC students and alumni to help them achieve their business goals. LCCC is one of four local colleges and universities chosen to participate in a three-year partnership with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and The Burton D. Morgan Foundation to support the next generation of entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.

"LaunchPad promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career choice for any student, not just those working on a business degree," said Lee S. Kolczun, Director of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad. "This is a great opportunity for students to get help evaluating their ideas and developing their business strategies with the goal of making them successful entrepreneurs," Kolczun said.

"Blackstone has been really helping Ground Up and helping to steer me in the right direction," Miller said. He’s made contact with the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) and is an active participant in FEBE3, a weekly networking opportunity for local entrepreneurs that is hosted by Blackstone.

"When we all work together, hopefully we can grow this industry and create some jobs in Lorain County and do something positive for us and for our families and for the community," Miller said.

With the help of LCCC’s Blackstone LaunchPad, other students and alumni are launching their own businesses. LCCC alumni Amy Storrow created the fashion company Global Trendsetters, and LCCC student Michael White is launching CLIPS, a company that provides transportation to college students.

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